Extremely heavy rain warnings issued for northeastern Taiwan

Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued extreme heavy rain warnings for northeastern Taiwan on Friday, warning of the potential for disastrous flash downpours.

Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Yilan County could experience over 200 millimeters of rainfall in a 24-hour period or over 100 mm of rainfall in three hours, according to the CWA.

Other areas expecting downpours are Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung counties, where accumulated rainfall could exceed 80 mm in 24 hours or 40 mm in one hour, forecasters said.

Weather stations in Nanao and Datong townships in Yilan County and Shilin District in Taipei had already recorded over 200 mm of accumulated rainfall between midnight Thursday and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, CWA data showed.

The continuous rainfall, driven by northeasterly seasonal winds and the outer bands of Tropical Storm Trami, has increased the risk of falling rocks, landslides, and mudflows in mountainous regions, the CWA warned.

It also urged people living in low-lying areas to remain on the alert for potential flooding.

The rainfall will likely ease during the day in northern Taiwan but will not subside until nighttime in eastern Taiwan, the CWA forecast.

In Taipei, several schools and offices have announced closures due to the heavy rain.

Meanwhile, a tropical depression near Guam developed into Tropical Storm Kong-rey on Friday morning, the CWA said, but it was not yet sure what the storm's impact on Taiwan might be.

As of 8 a.m., the storm was located about 2,770 kilometers east-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, moving in a west-northwest direction at 29 km per hour.

Kong-rey was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kph and gusts of up to 90 kph, according to CWA data.